Global temperatures are rising rapidly, and achieving The Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius means putting the brakes on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as soon as possible. At this point, unfortunately, that’s unlikely to happen; we’re already at 1.1 degrees Celsius and rising fast.

It’s estimated that around 4 billion people are living at significant risk from climate change, as well as the imminent loss of widespread biodiversity and ecosystems — in other words, we’re due for wholesale change.

Pressure from investors, regulators and customers is forcing many organizations’ hands in setting GHG or carbon-reduction targets. Recent research found that 85% of investment managers believe that businesses that don’t have supply chain sustainability initiatives will see their share prices fall as a result over the next decade.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) estimates that the world’s largest companies risk losing out on $1 trillion due to climate change if they get it wrong, but stand to be part of a $2.1 trillion opportunity if they get it right. If I were a business leader, I would want a piece of that upside, in addition to knowing that I was doing the right thing for our planet.

While it’s a nice idea that everyone is doing this because it’s the right thing to do, “doing good” can now also mean “doing well” in the future: it makes good business sense. But there’s a fine balance between speed, cost and profit that organizations will have to strike if they are to do good and well simultaneously.

Scope 3 covers emissions not directly owned or controlled by the reporting company. It’s where most of the emissions charged to a company’s supply chain occur. It’s not uncommon for Scope 3 to account for more than 80% of an organization’s total emissions; some retailers, manufacturers and electronics firms are reporting the number as well over 90%. In other words, if we are to hit our decarbonization targets, the thing we need to control the most is that over which we have the least control.

The answer is to address one piece at a time. Following are a few ideas, tips and callouts to getting there.

Inertia or greenwashing will get you in the end. “Why not just buy offsets?” Because this is kicking the carbon can down the road. Fast-forward five years, and your manageable carbon bill will have spiraled through higher taxes, offset costs, and the price of fossil fuels. What’s more, you’ll likely be falling afoul of due-diligence requirements by regulators, investors, government and consumers.

Bad data is good data. You can’t accurately profile Scope 3 without doing a lot of work, but building that first “carbon cube” to understand the rough shape of your emissions can be done relatively quickly. The picture won’t be perfect, but that’s the perfect reason to get started and get funded.

A carbon cube will tell you where you’re starting from (in terms of suppliers, categories, and the like), and where your key exposures are likely to be. The results are likely to encourage you to get some proper decarbonization technology. You can’t get perfect data quickly when it comes to carbon, but imperfect data can get you going.

But real good data is a necessity. In the mid to long term, you’ll want to get to near-perfect data, and that’s going to come from deconstructing products and supply chains and aggregating emissions calculations. It sounds complicated, but this is where your supply chain knowledge meets science, analytics, and technology.

Really good data and proper decarbonization technology will help you to report, forecast, and profile next actions against your plan to see what’s profitable and plausible, and in which timeframe. There is emerging technology in this space to watch out for.

Communicate and collaborate with suppliers. There’s no magic answer to decarbonization, no switch to click. Suppliers hold some, but not all, of the answers. Take energy: renewables will solve a lot of carbon problems, but there isn’t enough supply right now. It’s a long game with moves to make along the way.

Decarbonization means understanding internal data and challenges, exploring market offerings, continuously orchestrating change, and keeping an eye on the innovation needed in the mid to long term to make step changes where it matters. But don’t use collaboration and innovation as an excuse not to make progress now. You’ll find your action plan probably falls into three buckets:

• Big-ticket transformation and change projects that get to the heart of operations, offerings or the customer experience. These are hard, but ultimately have to be addressed, requiring collaborative and innovative thinking.
• Start “quick-win” projects now that take advantage of today’s offerings and innovations. This will get you moving, and fuel excitement among your culture, your suppliers, and external communications. Good news is infectious, so don’t delay.
• Everything in between, including more mid-level changes that might need minor specification changes, supplier searches or development. Again, seek achievable change that demonstrates intent and realizes results, while you tackle the transformation and change projects.

For bigger change projects, it might be a good time to collaborate not just with your suppliers but also with your competitors. Spread the cost, up the brainpower, increase the speed. It’s happening already. Don’t be caught on the outside looking in.

Simon Geale is executive vice president at Proxima.